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Shake That Family Tree Event
On 14 October 2023 the Howard County Genealogical and Historical Societies and the Howard County Public Library System organized the “Shake That Family Tree” event at the Miller Library in Ellicott City, MD. This was intended as a beginner-level event, but there was certainly great information for all the genealogists who attended. I was delighted to have been invited to host a table about military research and my books. All day long there were interesting talks, and a room full of tables with representatives from local...
read moreBack to School: Genealogy Style
When autumn comes, we think of going back to school. Genealogists are always learning, and webinars are a great way to do that. Presentations give us information, introduce us to new techniques or provide a new way of looking at our research. These resources in the blog post offer great classes and more. The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library hosts the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) and has many recorded webinars available on its YouTube Channel. You can even send them an email if you have a...
read moreChatGPT Shared Links
NOTE: DO NOT ENTER PRIVATE OR SENSITIVE DATA INTO ChatGPT. Your data is used for training, and is reviewed by OpenAI to verify that content complies with their policies and safety requirements. Data may be used for training purposes. ChatGPT has a new feature, and it’s pretty nice! Next to the name of the chat there are buttons to edit the name of the chat, share the chat and delete the chat. Now you can share your chats via the click of a button. When you share the chat, anyone with the link will be able to see...
read moreArtificial Intelligence: Google Bard vs. ChatGPT
It is inevitable that similar AI tools will be compared. This blog post takes a look at comparing OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Bard. When Google Bard was asked how it was different from ChatGPT, it answered that its training data contained images, that it could access the internet, and that it was a more general AI rather than a text-generating AI. Bard also told me that while ChatGPT was creative, it was more creative. Google Bard has an interesting approach to answering prompts. Unlike ChatGPT, its training and knowledge does...
read moreGenealogy and AI: Google Bard
Although Google Bard states that it removes personally identifiable information when using conversations to improve the model, DO NOT INCLUDE PERSONAL INFORMATION IN YOUR CHATS. This week I spent some time working with Google’s challenger to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google Bard is a Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), and I was working on the day that Bard began to bring images from Google Search into its results. Bard advertises that it helps you plan, solves complicated problems and supports your creative process....
read moreChatGPT and GEDCOM Files
Before I was a professor, I was a flight test engineer. My love of testing systems goes back to my early days working in a lab during college. My particular gift was always find a way to “break” hardware or software through use. My desire to investigate the use of ChatGPT in genealogy has definitely coincided with my enjoyment of testing. In this blog post, I take a look at what ChatGPT knows about GEDCOMs, how it builds one and how it can create a narrative when given an individual’s data formatted in a GEDCOM. The...
read more5 Ways to Use ChatGPT to Research an Ancestor
You may have been wondering how ChatGPT can help with genealogical research. This is a first look at using ChatGPT for research about a specific ancestor. For simplicity our conversation focused on where to find information, rather than on more complicated topics. ChatGPT held its own in our conversation, and was a pleasant companion and offered answers based on its training. You can view our other posts about Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Genealogy and Getting Started with ChatGPT for when you are ready to try...
read moreGetting Started with ChatGPT
By now you have probably heard about OpenAI’s systen, ChatGPT. You can use the Preview Preview for free with an account. ChatGPT has a number of ways it can support the genealogical community, covered in Artificial Intelligence and Genealogy. It can also support your personal genealogical efforts, covered in other posts. NOTE: DO NOT ENTER PRIVATE OR SENSITIVE DATA INTO ChatGPT. Your data is used for training, and is reviewed by OpenAI to verify that content complies with their policies and safety requirements. They may be used...
read moreArtificial Intelligence and Genealogy
By now, you have probably heard about ChatGPT. This blog post will discuss how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in Genealogy with the help of ChatGPT. In other posts I will cover how to use ChatGPT and some other AI tools that can help you in the pursuit of genealogy. Genealogy is the study of family history and ancestry, and it has become increasingly popular in recent years. With the advancement of technology, researchers have been able to access more information about their ancestors, making the process of genealogy more...
read moreBook Review: “Generation by Generation”
With a wealth of knowledge and experience in researching, lecturing, and teaching others, Drew Smith has now turned his efforts to create a book for those who are beginning their genealogical research in the United States. “Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy” is a concise way for new genealogists to benefit from Mr. Smith’s wisdom as well as enjoy his warm and approachable manner. He makes good use of analogies and examples so that the content is manageable by even the most novice...
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